Laos supports peace and security in South East Asia

Laos is giving her support to the draft resolution on strengthening peace and security in South East Asia.

This draft was proposed on the second day (12 January) of the five-day Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) in Vientiane. The meeting will be last 15 January 2009. The draft is based on the will of the peoples of South East Asia to live in peace and prosperity in the ASEAN region and in harmony with the other peoples of Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world.
It reaffirms that peace, stability, cooperation and development are the major trends of today’s globalised and interconnected world.

The proposal acknowledged that unilateralism, disregard of international law, terrorism, transnational crime, poverty and the development gap and contradictions between civilizations are some of the pertinent global challenges and threats of our time. It reiterates the need for closer cooperation among APPF member parliaments, in areas like politics, security, economics, trade, education, culture, health, environment and development.
Laos called on APPF member parliament in South East Asia to promote in their own countries the principles of the ASEAN Charter endorsed at the ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November 2007.

At this meeting, the Lao government appealed to all APPF member parliaments in North East Asia, America and Oceania to act and so bring about the realization of the ASEAN Community, as mentioned in the Vientiane Action Programme.

The Lao government also proposed the usage of dialogues to solve political conflicts, in so far that it arises in the region and it said it wanted the interchanges to be based on mutual trust, common interests and understanding. This land locked country, Laos said that it would support the efforts of the governments of ASEAN countries to strengthen peace and security in South East Asia.